A book entitled: "CRACKER INGENUITY: TIPS FROM THE TRAILER PARK FOR THE CHRONICALLY BROKE" by P.T. Elliott and E.M. Lowry, was just released March, 2003, which published two pictures of Larry "Grave Digger" Potenza in a lawnmower racing article (pages 136-138). The pictures were taken by his wife, Trish. She is the official photographer for the Ohio Mower Racers and Dewberry Mudboggers. Books are available at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble Book Stores. Check it out!!

This shot is of Larry Potenza doing a major wheelie!! No wonder he named this mower "ONE BAD MUDDER!!" This lawnmower is launched by a 10-horsepower Tecumseh. ONE BAD MUDDER has a Dynamark frame from around 1977.

This shot is of Larry on "ONE BAD MUDDER."

As you can tell by the picture, the pit was a mess! Larry finished 7th at the May 9, 1998 mudbog.

Here's a shot of Larry riding out a wheelie on "ONE BAD MUDDER." Larry won mudbog for the day at the August 8, 1998 mudbog. He beat out the points leader by 1 point!

This shot is of Larry on the track during the festivities at the Nationals. Looks like Larry is really deep in thought before the race!!!! This mower, the "GRAVE DIGGER" was also bought at a flea market, is also a Dynamark from around 1977, and but this one has a 12-horsepower Tecumseh. One of Larry's favorite rock groups is Pantera, so you're hearing Pantera's "Cemetary Gates." (Fitting for the "GRAVE DIGGER" huh?) Larry named his lawnmower "GRAVE DIGGER" after his favorite Monster Truck. Larry picked #77 because 7's have always been lucky for him, and his lawnmower is from 1977....See the connection?

Larry just competed at the Columbus Motor Speedway on 6/20/98 sanctioned by the OHIO MOWER RACERS and won both the heat race and the trophy dash for his class!!! Fellow OMR member, Jim Miller, was on Larry's tail during the heat race, but Larry pulled about a half-track lead on the second place finisher, Jim. For the 1/8 mile track, Larry was running 16 seconds!!

This picture is of Larry after winning 3rd Place in Class 2 at the Pickaway County Fair (OHIO MOWER RACERS Sanctioned) on June 28, 1998.

This is a shot of Larry after winning 1st Place at the Gahanna Grand Prix (OMR Sanctioned) in Gahanna, Ohio, on July 18th, 1998. Larry had a full track lead on the rest of the field!!

This shot is of Larry at the STA-BIL Motor City Regional in Belleville, Michigan on July 29, 1998. Larry thought the track would be larger so he geared for a bigger track, and unfortunately could only run in 2nd gear and finished 4th out of 8 racers.

Here is a picture of Larry's lawnmowers (and lots of trophies) from a car show in April, 1997. The car show had drag racing, outlaw, legend, and refurbished cars. We had about 10 mowers on display and it was quite a hit! The car show, Funder Alley, took place again on March 28, 1998 at ARC Industries South in Columbus, Ohio. The Dewberry Mudboggers made an appearance again on March 27, 1999!!

Larry attended three STA-BIL regionals in Mendota, Illinois on June 6, 1999. Larry was taken into the haybails by a rookie driver on lap 2 in the first regional. In the second regional, Larry kicked butt and pulled off 3rd place! There were 19 mowers in this class!! Larry was interviewed for TNN after this race (scheduled to air in Fall/Winter, 1999 on Sunday nites). With all the accidents happening with all those mowers on the small track -- Larry and his wife, Trish, decided to call it a day -- save their mowers for another race.

On June 13, 1999, Larry attended the Ohio Mower Racers' Madison County Rodeo race in London, Ohio. Larry kicked butt!! He brought home a 1st Place victory in Class 1 (8 HP and under). Way to go Larry!

Larry participated in the Motor City Regional in Belleville, Michigan, on July 22, 1999. They had an elimination race since there were too many mowers on the small track for safety reasons. Larry made the cut. Unfortunately, during the trophy dash his mower died at the start, so that started him towards the back of the pack. He still managed to pull off a respectible 5th place!

Larry participated in the OMR Sanctioned race in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 9, 1999. During one of the heat races, Larry was "T-Boned" by fellow racer, Steve Barber (Indiana) and flipped over. Larry injured a few ribs and wasn't able to finish grass racing for the rest of 1999 season. Larry still managed to build his wife, Trisha, a new grass racing mower for the IMOW Class in an amazing 2 1/2 weeks!! She had to turn most of the wrenches, but without his knowledge......she wouldn't have been able to race it at the Nationals!! Thanks Larry!!

Speaking of the 1999 Nationals, Larry was hoping that he would be able to race at the Nationals (hasn't missed one yet) so he took "Grave Digger" along -- just in case. Unfortunately, Larry's ribs weren't up to race -- just beginning to heal, so Larry chose smart -- to race another day!! Fellow teammate, Steve Sergent, experienced major engine difficulties during the day and since Larry wasn't going to race, he was very generous to loan his engine to Steve so that Steve wouldn't lose his place in the Points Standings for the national circuit (and it paid off)! Larry deserves a Spirit and Spark award if anybody does!!

Larry was able to mudbog with his rib injury and was in 2nd place until he was unable to attend the last two mudbogs, but still managed to pull off a respectible 4th place finish for the mudbog season!!

Larry participated with a borrowed mower (IRON MAIDEN) at the OMR Sanctioned race at the Auglaize County Fair in Wapakoneta, Ohio. The race was almost rained out but we made a track in the grass. After Larry was watching all the race action he was kicking himself for not bringing his mower and borrowed his wife's mower just to get some paint-scrapin' action! YEE HAW! With the Iron Maiden mower he managed a 5th place finish against all the FX Modified mowers (which was pretty good!).

Here is a great action shot of Larry in his new class -- the SP Class. This class is basically what BP Class used to be -- minus the twin cylinder mowers. In this picture he was competing at the USLMRA Buckeye Regional at the All Ohio Balloon Festival in Marysville, Ohio, on August 19, 2000. In the first of three regionals, Larry blew his engine (a new engine at that) right as they were pulling up to start the race. With some quick help from fellow racers, Larry was able to compete in the 2nd Regional. Due to track conditions, Larry chose not to race the 3rd regional. In the second regional he was listed as finishing in 14th out of 19 racers -- but he knows he passed some of the people listed in front of him in the stats. That always goes to show ya that sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the racers and their places. That's why the USLMRA is now trying to use transponders so there aren't mix-ups. Larry was just excited that he could finally race his newest engine after all of his hard work!

Larry attended the ARC Industries Funder Alley Car Show again in March, 2001 at ARC Industries South in Columbus, Ohio. Larry and his wife, Trisha, were also able to take their 2000 Trans Am to the show instead of just the mowers, which was a treat! Hmmmmm, which had the more horsepower, the Trans Am or the Mower? We'll never tell.... At the Car Show, Larry and Trish were presented with a beautiful plaque for their continued support representing the USLMRA and Ohio Mower Racers. They also announced that we (as lawnmower racers) receive more TV coverage than any other sprint car, drag racer, etc., and they were jealous!

Larry "Grave Digger" Potenza only got to race one race in the 2001 Season due to his work schedule and home commitments. But he did manage to compete at the 4th Annual STA-BIL Buckeye Regional at the All Ohio Balloon Festival in Marysville, Ohio. His mower "Grave Digger" was hungry after sitting in the garage all season and finished with a respectible 5th Place trophy. Finishers in front of Larry were: David Smith (New Jersey), Dale Ost (Michigan), Mark Caruso (Michigan), and Art Neaville (Michigan), respectively. At least we can say that the Ohio State Buckeyes kicked the Wolverines' butts in Football! YEEHAW! Great finish Larry!

Even with only one race under his belt for 2001, Larry still managed to finish in 37th place in the 2001 USLMRA Season Point Standings out of 59 racers in the SP Class!

Larry was able to see his favorite Monster Truck at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on January 4th, 2002. Even though Dennis Anderson was not there, the substitute driver for the Grave Digger Monster Truck made Larry proud by winning the Main Event as well as Free-Style Event! The Grave Digger put on an awesome show! This helped to get Larry pumped up for his own 2002 Season!

Larry was only able to make one race in the 2002 season due to a tremendous work schedule, but even so, he still finished with a very respectible 3rd Place in Marysville, Ohio, in August, 2002.

Lets see how Larry has done over the years....